The Best Thanksgiving Ever

The holiday season is a great time to snuggle up together with some good books. With the rainy weather limiting outdoor fun, a warm blanket and some books to go with the season like The Best Thanksgiving Ever by Teddy Slater is sure to entertain the little ones in the house. There are a lot of Thanksgiving books out there to choose from and this one just happens to be a favorite (among many) in my house.

 Each Thanksgiving we all take time to think about what we are thankful for this year. The Best Thanksgiving Ever lets us see what a family of animated turkeys is thankful for while making dinner because “this year, the Turkeys are hosting the feast.” Watch and read about the Turkeys’ Thanksgiving as they go through the stress and mess of putting a Thanksgiving feast together for a very large family.

“Tom gets out the dust mop, Tess gets out the broom. All in a flurry, they fly through the room.”

As meal time gets closer the family in attendance all pitches in to help out. Aunts, uncles and cousins help set the table and finish cleaning the house. Grandma and mom finish the cooking in the kitchen. All that’s left is waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. Everything looks perfect, the way it should be.

“The Pie’s in the over. The table is set. This looks like the very best Thanksgiving yet.”

More and more family continues to show up at the door. Everyone is welcomed in with love and greeted with hugs and kisses. More aunts and uncles and cousins flood in, brining their part to add to the meal that has been a work in progress the entire day as well as Happy Thanksgiving wishes.

“Right behind them comes Mo’s mama, Lee, with Uncle Pierre and Cousin Marie.”

Going around the room, everyone in the turkey family shares what they are most thankful for this year. Standing around the dinner table, all gathered together as the last of the food is coming out, they share in another family tradition of singing a Thanksgiving song about everything to be thankful for including the prize item that we all love to eat each year on this special holiday. I won’t ruin the end and leave you to wonder…

This whole book is a sweet rhyme all the way through. The illustrations created by Ethan Long were beautifully done and pleasing to any child’s eye. The turkeys’ faces are all very well animated, helping to bring out the silliness in the book without a problem. The expressions are dead on and make for huge smiles from the kids. Who wouldn’t crack up seeing a turkey with a big, wide mouth grin, a greaser hair do and a neck tie? My oldest still loves this book and curls right up into my lap when it’s time to pull this one out for a good afternoon story and laugh.